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Guthrie Helps Secure Additional $14M for Green River Water Intake Improvements in Edmonson County2/4/2026 Nearly $30M in Fed and State Funds Will Assist Edmonson County Water  Darren Doyle, story and photo:
Following the final passage of H.R. 7178, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, Congressman Brett Guthrie has announced the securing of an additional $14 million in funding for the Edmonson County Water District. This will go on top of $9.2M for the water treatment plant in Edmonson County, which was secured by Sen. Mitch McConnell in early January of this year, and the $6.5M in state funds secured by Rep. Michael Meredith in 2024. “I am proud to have been able to help secure over $23 million in federal funding towards these important projects,” said Congressman Guthrie. “For years, my team and I have worked to provide reliable and practical solutions to the water quality issues facing Edmonson County Water District. Today’s milestone could not have been possible without the collaboration with Senator McConnell, Kentucky Senator Givens, State Representative Meredith, and all other local stakeholders involved in this project. I look forward to seeing this funding directly benefiting the lives of hardworking Kentuckians well into the future.” Sen. McConnell characterized the funding as "a critical federal investment" for Edmonson County’s water projects. "Investing accordingly is among the core responsibilities of the Congress, and I’m proud to join Congressman Guthrie and local leaders to support essential federal funding that will help strengthen the quality of life for Kentuckians,” said Senator McConnell. Rep. Michael Meredith said it was wonderful news for the county. "Thanks to federal funding, along with the state resources we were able to secure, Edmonson County’s water system will finally receive the long-overdue upgrades it needs," said Meredith. "This achievement reflects years of dedicated collaboration among state, federal, and local officials and stands as a testament to the commitment that Congressman Guthrie and Senator McConnell have consistently shown for our community. Kentuckians rightly expect their elected leaders to work together—and to ensure taxpayer resources are invested in ways that will improve the quality of life for generations to come." Edmonson County Water District General Manager Kevin Shaw said there were no words that can say what this will mean to the customers of Edmonson County. "After many years of limited system improvements, we will be able to upgrade our water treatment plant with the technology needed in today’s world of new regulations. A very large portion of these funds will be used toward upgrading the water intake in Green River after the flow of the river was changed during the recent removal of the lock and dam below the current intake. My hat goes off to everyone who worked to make this funding available to the County Water System. These funds will greatly reduce the loan amount needed to complete these projects for the community." Shaw told the Edmonson Voice that the $14M amount dedicated to Edmonson County's water intake system was "pretty incredible." "We're in the planning stages right now because we still have a lot of unknowns," he said. "The river flowed a certain way for 100 years before the locks were taken out and it's not going to settle into its steady pattern overnight. We believe that the levels we saw in 2025 are going to be what would be considered normal levels and even at it's lowest, our intake never ran out of water." Shaw said the funding would be "plenty" and would help provide the intake system improvements the community deserves. He said the additional funds should fix the intake from the failures that resulted in the removal of the locks and that a timeline would be to have a design ready to present to the Kentucky Division of Water by this year's end. Barring any hidden surprises, construction could begin in 2027. According to the "experts," the purpose of removing the locks and dams was to return the river to its natural flow, despite residents of Edmonson County and our water system living with same river conditions over the past 100 years. No living person has ever been affected by whatever the original flow of the river may have been, however, that is what the county will see from this point forward. As a result, fishing, boating, and other water sports on the Green River have all but been erased since the removal of the dams. As of today, the current total amount of federal and state funding headed to Edmonson County Water to repair and improve the system, once final signatures are in place, is now $29.765M. TOTAL FUNDING DETAILS:
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